Ownership of the dungeon still belonged to Rapture Guild. However, many argued that the seriousness of the matter had to be taken into account.
Because of that, it was agreed that this dungeon would be treated, just this once, as equivalent to a special S-rank-level case.
Following discussions with the Hunter Management Bureau, the first exploration of the gate would be carried out as a joint guild operation.
Under Bureau regulations, when the gate opened, any guild that wanted to participate in the initial raid would be allowed to enter. Even counting only the guilds that had already expressed their intent to join, the total had reached around ten.
“With the minimum entry requirement being five people per team, even conservatively speaking, that puts us at around fifty people in total. For a D-rank dungeon, that’s an absurd number.”
Gong Sijin opened the briefing packet. Reemphasizing that the contents were confidential, he looked at each person gathered in the meeting room in turn.
“Our guild will be sending the people here. Hunter Gong Siyoung, Hunter Myeong Haejin, Hunter Woo Yujin, Hunter Gu Jayeong, and Hunter Yurian. Five in total. Any questions so far?”
Woo Yujin, who had been bouncing in his seat without pause, shot his hand into the air. Gong Sijin pointed at him.
“Yes, Hunter Woo Yujin. Go ahead.”
“What position would Hunter Yurian be, exactly? Last time I saw him, he looked more like a ranged dealer or support, but what rank would he be?”
Yurian pointed at himself with a fingertip. Woo Yujin nodded as if to say yes, you.
“I asked him directly, but he said he wasn’t sure.”
During the course of several internal meetings, Woo Yujin had also learned Yurian’s true identity.
The fact that a person from another world actually existed had been shocking enough, but even more surprising were Yurian’s abilities.
Without skills or items, he could freely create one thing after another. The word mage couldn’t have suited him better.
On top of that, Woo Yujin had already received Yurian’s help inside the dungeon. Maybe because of that, the way he treated Yurian was openly friendly.
“Mm… Hunter Yurian’s rank…”
Gong Sijin scratched his cheek. They had already failed once at measuring Yurian’s rank, and the plan to find out through trickery had fallen apart with the appearance of the layered gate.
At this point, there was no way to know Yurian’s actual rank, but…
If he had to make a guess, what would be reasonable?
“I think he’s probably above B-rank. Calling him S-rank feels unrealistic, and he seems closer to A-rank, but it’s hard to be certain about that either… so if I had to estimate, maybe around B++?”
Gong Sijin trailed off. It was only a guess on his part too. At his words—that Yurian was probably somewhere around the border between B and A—no one found it easy to respond.
“What the hell does that even mean? Is this an asset management report? Are we doing a credit rating evaluation right now?”
Gong Siyoung snapped at him for talking nonsense. Woo Yujin had apparently been thinking something similar, because the mood in the room turned even more awkward.
Not understanding the term itself, Yurian asked what an asset management report was. Myeong Haejin, who seemed secretly impressed by the brand-new unit called B++, leaned toward his ear and whispered.
White hair and pink hair pressed close together as they murmured back and forth.
How long had it even been since they met for them to already be this natural with physical closeness?
Watching the two of them, Gong Siyoung’s eyebrow twitched.
‘What the hell is that, seriously.’
Seeing Yurian act all friendly with Myeong Haejin was starting to piss him off more and more. He’d been like that the entire time since they got to the meeting room.
So if someone treated him nicely, he just acted like that with anyone? How light could a person’s ass possibly be? And what the hell was that judgment of character?
‘And not a single thought for the effort I put into feeding him fresh-cooked rice and meat soup.’
They’d only met today, and yet he was already completely distracted by Myeong Haejin. If he had to get close to someone, why did it have to be that bastard of all people?
Gong Siyoung bounced his leg as he glared at them. Noticing the vicious look in his eyes, Myeong Haejin curled his lips into a grin. Then, blatantly for show, he draped an arm around Yurian’s shoulders.
That bastard had to be kidding.
He was definitely doing it on purpose. Just looking at that shameless face made anger boil inside him.
“Before entering the gate, make sure you’ve fully familiarized yourselves with the contents of those materials. And remember, our objective is exploration, nothing more. There’s no need for you to take unnecessary risks. If a problem arises, or if the situation turns dangerous, your own safety comes first. Hunter Haejin will be leading this raid, so don’t forget to cooperate with his instructions as much as possible. You are listening, right, Hunter Siyoung?”
Gong Sijin deliberately singled Gong Siyoung out. Sitting there with his legs crossed crookedly, Gong Siyoung gave a reluctant nod.
He hated Myeong Haejin with a passion, but that didn’t mean he intended to ruin the team atmosphere before they even entered the dungeon.
He knew how to separate business from personal matters. If the Guild Master had appointed Myeong Haejin as leader, then respecting that decision was the proper thing to do.
He hated it enough to die, enough to cry, enough to feel fucking sick over it, but what else could he do?
The thought showed plainly on his face, making his expression look nasty enough that it was impossible to tell whether he meant he’d listen or not just by looking at him. Gong Sijin scratched his head.
Up to that point, Myeong Haejin had still been glancing at Gong Siyoung and grinning to himself. Then he clapped his hands, and just like that, the topic changed.
“Don’t worry, Master! I’ll take full responsibility for this raid and make sure we all come back safe and sound.”
At Myeong Haejin’s bright, spirited answer, Gong Sijin smiled faintly. He patted him on the shoulder.
“Of course. I’m counting on you, Hunter Haejin.”
Gong Siyoung might have outstanding ability, but he had absolutely no talent for teamwork. Myeong Haejin, on the other hand, was the kind of person who would do anything for the sake of the team.
That was why Gong Sijin had chosen Myeong Haejin as team leader. No matter what unexpected situation arose, he would make the optimal decision.
“Well then, shall we get going? Before you head out, could Yurian and Siyoung stay behind for a moment? I want a quick word.”
The others gathered up their materials and filed out of the meeting room. At Gong Sijin’s gesture, Yurian and Gong Siyoung stepped closer. Only after confirming the door had shut did Gong Sijin fold his arms and turn to Yurian.
“I heard about it. They said you spotted the sudden dungeon earlier today.”
His eyes were bright.
Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, Gong Sijin covered his mouth and whispered so that only the two of them could hear.
“And they said Yurian was the very first one to notice it? Honestly, I don’t know how our Yurian manages to have that kind of talent too.”
There was warmth in the way he looked at Yurian, as if he found him unbearably admirable. Faced with praise for being talented in every possible way, Yurian scratched his head awkwardly.
As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t really done anything.
He had only said one thing: that something over there looked strange.
The people who had actually reported it and dealt with it had been everyone else. Maybe that was why Gong Sijin’s attitude felt a little uncomfortable.
“You ate well, right? Did Siyoung take good care of you? I hope you slept well too. Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable, or anything that’s been difficult? If you need anything at all, please tell me right away, Yurian. I’ll do everything I can for you.”
At this rate, if given a little more time, he’d be managing Yurian’s biorhythm and reading his fortune too.
Gong Siyoung subtly stepped in front of Yurian, clearly telling him to cut it out.
“Shouldn’t we be going already? You said there wasn’t much time.”
“Ah, right. Look at me getting carried away. It’s nothing major—I just wanted to give him this before you went in.”
He held out a smartphone. Reflexively, Gong Siyoung reached for it, but Gong Sijin quickly stepped back. Then he pointed at Yurian.
“Not you. It’s for Yurian. It’s already activated, and I saved all the necessary numbers in it. Siyoung can teach you how to use it, step by step… Ah, and I also loaded some materials that looked useful, so take a look whenever you have time.”
All sorts of apps had been installed on the phone. The Hunter Management Bureau app, the Rapture Guild exclusive app, a video platform, even a children’s general knowledge encyclopedia—carefully selected by Gong Sijin after far too much thought.
Receiving the smartphone from him, Yurian let out a sound of admiration.
“This is that communication thing you mentioned?”
“That’s right. It’s called a smartphone. A small gift from me to you, Yurian.”
Saying his own number had been set to speed dial number one, Gong Sijin tapped it.
The call connected immediately.
“Wow…”
All he had done was place a call, but Yurian was already staring in amazement. Holding the smartphone carefully in both hands, he looked delighted as a child.
Seeing that, Gong Sijin smiled with deep satisfaction.
“I’m glad you like it. Siyoung, it’s your responsibility to teach him how to use it properly. Understood?”
Yurian nodded.
Gong Siyoung, who had abruptly found himself saddled with smartphone lessons on top of everything else, knitted his brows.
“Yurian, would you step outside first? Siyoung stays a little longer.”
Distracted by the smartphone, Yurian headed for the door. Only after watching him leave did Gong Sijin sling an arm around Gong Siyoung’s shoulders.
“Siyoung. I’ve got a feeling this is going to get a little complicated.”